7-Footer Will Transfer From Big Ten Program

Andy van Vliet, a seven-foot center for the Wisconsin Badgers, is heading elsewhere for his final year of eligibility. He and the school announced the move on Tuesday.

The Belgium native joined to the Wisconsin program back in 2015. However, his college basketball career got off to a rough start from the jump.

Because he did not enroll at UW within one year of his high school graduation, van Vliet was ruled ineligible for the 2015-16 season for the Badgers. He was with the program, but could not contribute that season.

He never quite found his footing with Greg Gard’s team once he was able to play either. After playing just over three minutes per game in 14 contests as a sophomore, he considered transferring.

He discussed his thought process at the time with the Wisconsin State-Journal. From their report on van Vliet’s transfer.

“I wasn’t into it,” he said at the time. “I didn’t really buy into the whole system, honestly. At the end of the season, I was really thinking about leaving. I was pretty much set on leaving. And then I really started thinking about, ‘OK, is this really what’s good for me? Is it really not my fault, or is there something I could do more?’ ”

An attitude adjustment — “It was not a fun moment to look at yourself and be like, ‘I’m a piece of (expletive),’ ” Van Vliet said in September — led to a productive offseason and Van Vliet entered the 2017-18 season as a starter.

Van Vliet’s role with the Badgers as a junior quickly deteriorated. He played double-digit minutes in each of Wisconsin’s first four games, before losing his starting role.

Eventually, he was no longer a member of the rotation. Van Vliet averaged 7.7 minutes per game, scoring an average of 3.4 points, and appeared in 17 total contests.

Now, Andy Van Vliet is leaving Wisconsin.

He announced his departure with a note posted to Twitter. The message was sent out on Tuesday evening, ahead of Wisconsin’s release.

Despite missing his first year, it sounds like van Vliet only has one year of eligibility remaining. He may not have made a huge impact with the Badgers, but as a 7-footer who hit over 50-percent of his threes in 2017-18, some Division I team will take a shot on his skill-set.